Massages for enhanced performance, by Cindy Fabro

If you are an athlete, professional or amateur, or even if you are a person who likes to exercise, getting regular massages may help you perform better. Vigorous training can lead to tight, sore muscles, which may add unnecessary stress to joints, ligaments and tendons that assist the muscles in our bodies and help us move. Muscle tension can lead to a decrease in range of motion, inflexible, rigid muscles and muscle ‘knots’. All of which can increase the chance of injury. Consistent tension in muscles can also lead to a decrease of oxygen to the muscles, which can leave you feeling achy and tired. Keeping your muscles hydrated, oxygenated, relaxed, and flexible, can help you perform at your peak.

Just like any professional athlete, you need to properly take care of your body to help you avoid injury and perform at your best at every event. Drinking water, stretching, warming-up and cooling-down are things we need to do in order to take care of our bodies. But did you know that getting regular massages could help you train more effectively, perform better and recover more quickly? Deep tissue massage can help relax tight, sore muscles, keeping them flexible and supple, flush out built up toxins and work out muscle knots and trigger points. Massages also promote circulation to the areas being worked so tight muscles get the oxygen they need as well as nutrients important for muscle repair. Massage can break down built up lactic and uric acids as well as other waste products that can accumulate and cause discomfort in the body.

Massages may also be beneficial during a specific sporting event. Before an event starts, it can help warm up the body, increase blood flow to the muscles and help relieve any tension of the muscles that will be involved in the exertion, in turn, helping you perform better. During an event, massage can help with any tightness or cramping that may occur and help support recovery and after an event, it can help flush the system, relax the muscles and aid in repair of tissues that may have been slightly damaged during the event. One thing to remember: massages shouldn’t replace your regular routine but should be utilized more as an addition to it.

ICE vs. HEAT – Part 2

Last week, I weighed in on the benefits of ice to treat an injury. In this blog entry, I’m continuing the Ice vs. Heat debate telling you what I tell my patients about the use of Heat!

In my practice I use heat on my patients prior to treating them. But it doesn’t stop there. A day doesn’t go by where I don’t recommend heat to help manage someone’s pain or condition. 90 percent of the conditions I see in my office would be classified as a repetitive strain injury or chronic (with the other 10 percent being acute). Heat is the key when treating repetitive strain or chronic injuries! Heat will increase blood flow, relax muscles, decrease pain and promote healing.

Dr. G’s Tips on when/how to use heat:

use for chronic injuries, if you have tight muscles

use before activity to warm up muscles, not after activity

use at night before bed if you often wake up with stiffness

heat should be applied for 15-20 minutes but can be used for longer (if you use an electrical heating pad, be sure not to fall asleep on it as they can cause burning)

Apply the heat to the area that is the problem…going in a hot tub/sauna or generally applying the heat to a larger area will not have the same affect (as mentioned earlier the goal of using heat is to increase blood flow to the affected area, this can not be achieved if heat is applied to a larger more general area)

recommended to use moist heat rather than dry heat (e.g. Hot water bottle, gel packs, etc)

The Benefits of Massage Therapy by Cindy Fabro

Believe it or not but massage therapy has been around for many years and is one of the most ancient forms of healing. Evidence from the ancient Greeks, Buddhist temple carvings, ancient China and even the dark and middle ages has shown that some form of massage therapy was used to heal injuries in athletes, men and women, the rich and the poor. It is only within the last few centuries that massage therapy has become more pronounced as a natural alternative to traditional medicine. Although a vast amount of information on the benefits of massage therapy exists, the following is a list of benefits specifically proven through years of research and observation:

Are you aware of your sleeping position?

Is the way your sleeping going to come back to haunt you in the future? Changing your sleeping position may be the solution to your back pain. The following blog entry focuses on what I tell my patients about their sleeping habits and how it can affect their back.

It is a well known statistic that 8 out of 10 people will experience back pain at some point in their life and back pain is one of the most common health problems. Like any chiropractor, low back pain is one of the more common conditions that we see in our clinic. On your initial visit, a history is always taken and the one question I always ask to those patients presenting with back pain is ”what position do you sleep in?”. If your answer is “I sleep on my stomach” then that may be the cause of your pain. It’s amazing how many people sleep on their stomachs and enjoy sleeping on their stomachs, however, it is the one position that is not ideal for your low back and neck. In simple terms, the curve in you low back (lordosis) is crucial for proper balance, shock absorption, and strength. Sleeping on your stomach will in the long term reverse that curve, and in the short term put pressure on the posterior (back) portion of your spine and that’s where the pain receptors lie. If you are a stomach sleeper and experience back pain, sleep on your side or back and over time you’ll be pleasantly surprised with the difference it will make. If you do not have pain and sleep on your stomach, break the habit now, as it’s only a matter of time before you start to experience the negative affects.

Dr. G’s Tips:
• Whatever you do, do NOT sleep on your stomach. Sleep on your side or your back
• Use a pillow! If you are sleeping on your side put it between your knees. If you are on your back put in underneath your knees. This will ensure that muscles, joints, and nerves are not being stressed
• Use heat for 15 minutes at night before bed and this will help minimize common morning stiffness
• Use 1 medium sized, medium stiffness pillow for your neck. Using 2 pillows is a no-no and will create issues (the goal is that you maintain a neutral position of your neck- should not flexed(too far forward), extended(bent backward) or laterally flexed(leaning more to one side)
• Do not fall asleep on soft surfaces or awkward positions, which means NO sleeping on the couch!!
• If you are a stomach sleeper and are having difficulties changing the habit, here’s a tip that has worked with many of my patients: Take a sweatshirt with a front pouch or a pair of sweatpants with pockets in the front and put something hard (tennis ball etc) in the pouch/pockets, this will make it uncomfortable for you to sleep on your stomach

Hello Blogosphere!

Well, it’s taken over 35 years, but I’ve finally made it to the blogosphere! I feel great and I am very excited about sharing my insights, thoughts, knowledge and experiences with you. I have many goals for the blog: I hope to inspire and motivate you to achieve a healthy lifestyle, to help you obtain a more fulfilling lifestyle, and maybe even be the one that gives you that extra push that can sometimes make the difference in overcoming obstacles and achieving your own personal goals. I will share health tips as it relates to diet, exercise, treatment/prevention of ailments and injuries, my general thoughts on life, and the things that interest me. Other members of my talented team will be chiming in every once in a while on this blog to share their thoughts and expertise around health and wellness. I think you’ll enjoy their insights on the topics they will choose to write about.

When I take a moment to reflect, I am proud of my accomplishments, not just because I am fortunate to help patients with their health on a daily basis, or because I work with some of the top professional athletes in the world, or because, I am surrounded by so many amazing people. Most important to me, is the adversity I overcame to get to where I am today. I dealt with an insurmountable life shattering loss at a very young age. Just over seven years ago, my beautiful wife Brenda lost her two-year battle with breast cancer. She was 28 and full of love and life. That day my world, as I had known it, stopped.

A lot has happened since then and it’s hard to describe in words what I went through. Brenda taught me so much about love and living and showed me so many things that have allowed me today to be at peace with who I am and to be happy once again. Trust me when I say, the obstacles I had to deal with appeared to be insurmountable, but through some very powerful principles, continued perseverance, hope, faith, and belief, and with the love of others, I overcame them. The fortunate thing in life is that you don’t always have to go at it alone. In my case, I am extremely grateful to have found love again in the heart and soul of my fiancee Julie. She has taught me that the sun is always behind the clouds. You just have to believe it’s there and it will eventually break through.

Over time, in addition to the health and wellness tips I will share on this blog, I hope to use my personal experiences to inspire, support and help others help themselves and the people they care about. I do so as a tribute to my late wife. So whether it’s health, wellness, performance or the principles of life that allows you to succeed and make a difference, I hope my blog is something you look forward to reading and sharing with others. Let’s get started!